Consumption of addictive substances in mariners

Abstract

Background: For many years, studies have confirmed that there is a high prevalence of addiction amongst seafarers. The effect of this is even more serious when one considers their isolated and even hostile living environment presenting risks which require vigilance and rapid reactions. The purpose of this article is to determine the extent of knowledge about addiction among seafarers.

Materials and methods: This is a review of the literature between 1993 and 2013 with respect to the prevalence of consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs amongst seafarers. Total prevalence was calculated using the virtual population represented by the subjects of each article, when drug consumption definition was the same between articles and when mariners studied were different.

Results: 63.1% (range 38.4–96.3%) of seafarers smoked tobacco. 14.5% (range 8.8–75%) of seafarers drank alcohol. 3.4% (range 9–45%) had used cannabis during the previous month. Few studies concerned other drugs; 3–10% of seafarers used drugs on board.

Conclusions: The prevalence of tobacco and alcohol consumption amongst seafarers was higher than that in the general population. Further studies on the use of drugs at work would be valuable for this population who are subject to significant occupational risk.